From the monthly archives:

October 2009

Finally, Search Engines can index people

by Todd Lucier on October 30, 2009

Twitter Lists = People Tags

This week Twitter Lists spread across the Web and early adopters have created lists of the people on Twitter that matter most to them.

It’s very early in the people tagging game with Twitter Lists. But, link this new tool with last weeks news of partnership deals between Google, Bing and Twitter and the new Google Social Search tool and look out on the horizon and you can see where we are going.

Why being tagged in a Twitter list matters?

Twitters deal with major search engines Google and Bing allow the search engines to crawl the content produced on Twitter. The most important element for Google to define the relevance of Content has always been links. Twitter lists will be search engine link gold.

Interestingly, Twitter lists get urls that include the list makers name as well as the name of the list chosen.
ie: http://twitter.com/#/list/toddlucier/travel-canada is a list of Canadian Travel-related Twitter users I created.

A design element that clearly signals a nod to the SEO implications of the designated list pages is that Twitter is automagically puts hyphens into the list names.

Your Followers are Tagging YOU

Interestingly, much like saving Web pages on Delicious.com where the user defines the keyword relevance of the content (not the producer of the content), it is your followers who have the power to define the most relevant tags for you, by putting you and your Twitter identity onto a list.

Get your name on the List

If you want to be recognized as a top member of your tribe on Twitter Lists and benefit from the keyword value that goes along with it, there are a few things you should and shouldn’t do:

  1. Focus on producing relevant quality content for your preferred audience.
  2. Make lists that feature to top members of your tribe. By curating a great list of the top Twitters in your tribe you will be creating a page that is bound to get some SEO attention to your Twitter account in Twitter-related search.
  3. Use keyword tags in your list names. ie: Don’t name a list – “My Twitter Buddies”. Using keywords will get your list more followers and your page more SEO attention.
  4. Follow lists of people that are important in your tribe. This will link your Twitter identity to lists of relevant Twitter users. An important side benefit will be the stream of valuable incoming Twitter content.
  5. Don’t ask to be included in a list – this doesn’t demonstrate your credibility (just your neediness to be recognized). When the urge strikes to ask to be included, refer to #1 above.
  6. Refer others for lists. Check out the new Twitter list curation tool at Listorious makes it easy to suggest top Twitter folk. If the urge strikes to recommend yourself refer to #5 above.
  7. Review your Twitter Profile and edit your one line bio to include a better description of the things you tweet about and the tribe/community you serve. Use keywords.

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Twitter Lists: Don’t be Greedy, Be Picky

by Todd Lucier on October 29, 2009

Twitter Introduces Twitter Lists

The newest marketing opportunity presented by Twitter is Twitter lists. The new tool makes it easy to create lists of people you are following and to share those lists (if desired) with others.

This is a really important development that will expand the Web of connections that makes Twitter so valuable.

Why Twitter Lists Matter (even if you don’t use them yourself)

People who deliver great content on Twitter will be followed. If people appreciate your presence they will add you to their lists. As more people discover these lists, expect to gain more followers based on the recommendations of others. All you have to do to benefit is to continue to be a great member of the Twitter community.

There are two ways to benefit from using Twitter Lists (in both cases, it pays to be selective)

Follow Lists of Other People

It’s the strength of your information network on Twitter that keeps you informed. The people in your network you trust will create excellent, credible lists of people to follow. Be choosy. Having too many people feeding you irrelevant information will make you reconsider the value of the list.

Make Lists of People

Be very selective about how your create your lists. If you go about it the right way, you could gain notoriety for providing links to people who matter and provide great info. You’ll be rewarded with others following your list.

Have a gander at the list I’ve created of Travel Twitter people who feed me to get started. If you trust me as a source, you might choose to follow this list. http://twitter.com/#/list/toddlucier/travel-and-tourism-folk

If you do, let me know if you like it and make suggestions about who I’m missing. I know there is undiscovered treasure out there in Twitter!

Final Thought on Twitter Lists: As you get started making lists be sure to use keywords in naming your list that will be widely recognized by people in your tribe.

Links:

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Google Makes Search Social

October 27, 2009

“Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.” The First Law of Geography according to Waldo Tobler is also a key component in Googles algorithm to determine search ranking. Google looks at how closely search phrases are spaced in the search box, and on the page, as well [...]

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Twitter / Google Partnership means more to Google than Twitter

October 27, 2009

At Web 2.o Summit Marissa Mayer, (Google CEO) opened her short presentation with a curious statement: Listen for yourself…. (it’s only 15 seconds) After announcing Googles partnership with Twitter, Mayer said, “We will be featuring their tweets in our search results, as well as building a real time search ummmmm . . . ” Then [...]

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Microsoft and Google search results to feature Twitter Tweets

October 21, 2009

Microsoft search engine Bing inked a deal with Twitter that includes tweets in search results. Microsoft announced the deal onstage at the Web 2.0 Summit today. The non-exclusive deal made it easy for Google to piggyback on the Bing announcement with their own announcement of a commitment to feature Tweets in search results. Significance of [...]

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Climate Witness: Blog Action Day

October 15, 2009

For many of us, the idea of a changing climate is just that, an idea, something vague, distant and unfortunately irrelevant. For Ursula Rakova, climate change is much more. It is the source of a disrupted life, a community displaced, a paradise lost. Ursula Rakova is Executive Director of Tulele Peisa was born on Han, [...]

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What Makes a Successful DMO?

October 8, 2009

Successful Destination Marketing Organizations Tourism businesses can succeed with the help of a strong destination marketing organization. At the core, a shared community vision about the values in a community are at the heart of any shared marketing project. By bringing together traditional and non-traditional partners in tourism and getting the word out with a [...]

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Travel Writers: Why your DMO needs tech savvy story tellers

October 6, 2009

All you have is stories. Your destination marketing organization (DMO) benefits from the stories your guests tell about their experiences in your region. That’s part of what makes tech savvy travel writers and content creators of all sorts (think video, audio, photos too!) such an important part of your marketing effort. The good news: Travelers [...]

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